Look-and-See Signs a Senior Needs Help

What today’s seniors want most is to age in place. But what they’re least likely to ask for is the kind of help that will keep them comfortable and safe at home. That’s why it’s often up to the adult children of aging parents to look for the signs that their older loved one needs help at home. Neglecting those signs will likely lead seniors to the kind of dependence that most would like to avoid.

“Seniors often don’t recognize when they require help,” said Robert Vielee, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care^® office serving Northeast Pennsylvania and the Greater Poconos.  “That’s why adult children should identify where their loved ones need assistance.

Home Instead Senior Care has made this process easier by providing a list of simple, look-and-see signs that adult children can use to identify the types of services their senior might need. Providing assistance with a few basic tasks – such as meal preparation, light housekeeping, companionship and medication reminders – often means the difference between whether they stay at home or go to a care community. And that kind of independence is very important to seniors’ overall happiness.”

Seniors’ expectations for remaining at home are high. Industry studies typically show that as many as 90 percent of seniors want to age in place in their own homes. The Home Instead Senior Care network, the largest provider of at-home care and companionship for aging adults in the U.S., sends CAREGivers^SM to seniors to help keep them independent and at home for as long as possible.

“Most people, in general, want to live at home or independently in a retirement community,” said Mary E. Hujer MSN APRN, a board-certified geriatric clinical nurse specialist/instructor at Southwest General Hospital’s Geriatric Services Center in Cleveland, Ohio. “Who wants to lose their independence? The best approach to staying self-sufficient is to plan ahead and accept help when necessary,” she noted.

“By helping adult children identify the types of resources that a senior might need to remain independent at home, we hope that families can avoid some of the stress that goes with caring for an aging loved one,” Vielee said. 

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact 570-586-3135 or visit the company’s website at HomeInstead.com/nepa.

Look-and-See Signs of Aging

1. Look in refrigerator, freezer and drawers.  Has food spoiled because Mom can’t get to the grocery store? Does she have difficulty cleaning tight, cluttered places?

2. Look over the grocery list. Has your loved one’s declining health prompted her to purchase more convenience and junk foods, and neglect proper nutrition?  Is she losing weight?

3. Look on top of furniture and countertops. Are dust and dirt signs that household tasks are becoming more difficult for your parents?

4. Look up at fans and ceilings. Has the inability to lift her arms and climb stepstools prevented your loved one from cleaning soot and grime from high places? Caution your senior not to climb.

5. Look down at floors and stairways. Have shaky hands spilled drinks and food, soiling vinyl, wood, carpets and walkways? Are frayed carpets, throw rugs, objects and furniture creating tripping hazards? Does Dad’s bad knee put him at greater risk on cracked sidewalks and with broken stair rails? 

6. Look under beds and sofas. Is your senior having difficulty organizing old newspapers, books and magazines, which are creating a fire hazard?

7. Look through the mail. Is Mom’s dementia causing her to forget to pay bills and answer correspondence?

8. Look below bathroom and kitchen sinks. Is poor eyesight making it difficult for your elderly relative to read medication labels and to properly store cleaning materials? Is Dad forgetting to refill medications and to take them on schedule?  Check the refill date against the number of pills in the bottle to help determine if he is taking medication regularly. Or call the pharmacy.

9. Look at your senior’s appearance. Is clothing dirty and unkempt, and is your loved one neglecting personal hygiene? 

10. Look to your parents’ neighbors and other close friends to learn about their daily routine. Are your seniors at home more, watching television and avoiding stimulating conversation and companionship?

Source:  Home Instead Senior Care^®, 2013